Politics
Newport detention-center lawsuit ends after DHS abandons Oregon project
The federal government says it is no longer pursuing an immigrant detention center in Newport or elsewhere in Oregon, prompting the state to drop its lawsuit. DHS agreed to give Newport at least 30 days’ notice if it revives the project before Aug. 1, 2027.
Oregon is ending its lawsuit over a proposed immigrant detention center at Newport Municipal Airport after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it has abandoned the project and has no current plans to build a facility anywhere in the state.
The state and DHS filed an agreement in federal court Friday. Under its terms, DHS must give Newport officials at least 30 days’ notice if it resumes efforts to build a detention center in the city through Aug. 1, 2027.
Newport joined Oregon’s legal challenge after plans for the facility emerged last year. The proposal became public after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement relocated a Coast Guard rescue helicopter that had been based at the airport since 1987. The helicopter supports coastal rescues, including for tourists and members of the fishing fleet.
Newport Mayor Jan Kapla said the city had a responsibility to defend residents and seek transparency in decisions affecting the community. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said the state would continue working to keep the helicopter in Newport, even as the detention-center lawsuit concludes.
The helicopter returned in December under a judge’s order in a separate lawsuit, which remains ongoing. Earlier court disclosures showed that federal officials had begun work on the Newport detention-center plan by fall 2025 and had initially anticipated housing detainees there as early as the start of 2026.
DHS oversees ICE. The agency did not respond to a request for comment. The agreement resolves Oregon’s lawsuit over the proposed detention center, but it does not end the separate legal fight over the Coast Guard helicopter.